Be not afraid of Golden Gate Park’s Stanyan Street...

1of9Visitors enter Golden Gate Park at Stanyan Street, an area that has long been troublesome and is being renovated to fix that.Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

2of9The fence next to the park entrance at Stanyan Street is broken but renovations are coming.Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

3of9Graffitti seen next to the Stanyan St. entrance of Golden Gate Park at Haight St. on Thursday, May 16, 2019 in San Francisco, Calif. Renovations may soon be coming to the Stanyan St. entrance of Golden Gate Park.Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

4of9The Alvord Lake bridge looking toward Alford Lake near Stanyan St. entrance to Golden Gate Park at Haight St. seen on Thursday, May 16, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif. Renovations may soon be coming of the Stanyan St. entrance of Golden Gate Park.Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

5of9Empty beer bottle seen at stairs next to Stanyan St. entrance to Golden Gate Park seen on Thursday, May 16, 2019 in San Francisco, Calif. Renovations may soon be coming to the Stanyan St. entrance of Golden Gate Park.Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

6of9Stanyan St. entrance (top middle right in front of muni bus) to Golden Gate Park seen from Alford Lake on Thursday, May 16, 2019 in San Francisco, Calif. Some recent renovations may be coming to the Stanyan St. entrance to Golden Gate Park.Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

7of9Grass being cut on Stanyan St. next to the entrance of Golden Gate Park at Haight St. on Thursday, May 16, 2019 in San Francisco, Calif. Renovations may soon be coming to the Stanyan St. entrance to Golden Gate Park.Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

8of9Stairs next to Stanyan St. entrance to Golden Gate Park seen on Thursday, May 16, 2019 in San Francisco, Calif. Renovations may soon be coming to the Stanyan St. entrance of Golden Gate Park.Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

9of9View of park past theStanyan St. entrancet o Golden Gate Park seen looking at Alford Lake and field on Thursday, May 16, 2019 in San Francisco, Calif. Some recent renovations may be coming of the Stanyan St. entrance to Golden Gate Park.Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

Golden Gate Park’s eastern entryway is set to undergo a major renovation this summer that’s meant to transform what’s been a troublesome stretch of Stanyan Street into a more inviting place for the park’s visitors and neighborhood residents.

San Francisco’s Recreation and Park Commission unanimously approved a $5.5 million suite of projects that will improve lighting, walkways, irrigation and landscaping along the park’s eastern edge.

And in perhaps the most significant development, a free-standing, 1930s-era bathroom near Page and Stanyan streets that park gardeners currently use for storage, will become an outdoor cafe with a sitting area operated by Flywheel Coffee Roasters.

Flywheel, which already operates a cafe just across the street from where the new “coffee kiosk” will be located, would lease the space for five years with an option to extend for an additional three years. Two bocce courts will also be installed adjacent to the cafe in an effort to further activate the space.

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The structure was converted from a restroom into storage space in the 1990s, after it became a magnet for what the park department called “illegal and illicit activities,” like vandalism and drug use — behavior that for years has been endemic to the area around the park’s Stanyan Street entrance.

Residents and businesses complained for years about illegal activity near the park’s entrance and the former McDonald’s restaurant across Stanyan. The restaurant was the locus of hundreds of police calls each year — 640 alone between January 2014 and April 2015. The situation near McDonald’s deteriorated to the point that City Attorney Dennis Herrera declared it a public nuisance and issued its operators a cleanup order in 2015.

“The redesign of the area was informed by neighbors, who wanted a safe, welcoming place that inspired community while preserving the natural beauty,” Recreation and Park Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg said in a statement.

The projects will be financed primarily by revenue from the city’s 2012 parks bond. Construction on the Stanyan Street projects is expected to begin in July and wrap up in February.

The park commission also approved a proposal to allow the Exploratorium to construct seven interactive exhibits around Alvord Lake, in the middle of the site, including a “hello highway” featuring an outstretched arm on a hinge encouraging park patrons to greet one-another with high-fives.

Apart from the improvements along Stanyan Street, the commission also unanimously approved a flexible pricing model for a handful of major tourist attractions that will adjust admission fees based on how many people are queuing up at any given time.

For nonresident, adult visitors, admission fees for the Japanese Tea Garden, the San Francisco Botanical Garden, the Conservatory of Flowers and the elevator to the top of Coit Tower could be raised by up to 50% during peak times and discounted by up to 25% when demand is slow. The proposal still needs Board of Supervisors approval.

The commission also agreed to accept just under $100,000 in cash and grants from the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation to renovate the basketball court at Hayes Valley Playground. In addition to resurfacing, the court will be painted in layers of color with a concept designed by San Francisco street artist Ricardo Richey.

Dominic Fracassa covers San Francisco City Hall for The Chronicle. He previously worked as a reporter and editor for the Daily Journal, a legal affairs newspaper. He started in news in his home state of Michigan, where he worked as a news director of 103.9 WLEN.